News

Hobart now heading new format at Dick’s
Lauren Hobart has been elevated to the role of executive vice president at Dick’s Sporting Goods and given responsibility for a potential new growth vehicle.

Hobart was named executive vice president, chief marketing officer and general manager of Dick’s new women’s specialty fitness stores branded as Chelsea Collective. Only two store are in operation currently, in McLean, Va. and Pittsburgh, but greater growth could be in store now the Dick’s has given a senior executive oversight of the concept.
Kohl's targets millennials with Madden Girl
Kohl’s is giving its millennial customers some exciting new cold weather merchandise to think about as the fall season gets well under way.

The retailer is debuting the Madden Girl collection, featuring fashion, cold weather boots, accessories and outerwear. The collection will be available Oct. 15 in Kohl’s stores and on Kohls.com. The assortment will include the brand’s cold weather boots as well as exclusive designs for the fall season.

Cullinan Properties welcomes senior VP of development and anchor leasing

Peoria, Ill. -- Cullinan Properties announced the addition of Vic Pildes as senior VP of development and anchor leasing. In this role, Pildes will be responsible for development and municipal related activities for new projects, assist in the identification of new acquisition opportunities and lead anchor leasing efforts throughout Cullinan’s portfolio.
CVS Health looks outside lab for innovation

On the heels of opening its Digital Innovation Labin Boston in June, CVS Health is furthering its innovation efforts with two new outside partnerships.
EMV is here, sort of

The highly anticipated EMV deadline of October 1 has come and gone, leaving many retailers and payment solutions providers to ponder what’s next?

As of Oct. 1, 2015, any U.S. retailer that does not have the necessary POS hardware, software, and operational and network protocols in place to process an EMV-compliant chip card transaction faces a shift in fraud liability.
Walmart enhances e-commerce shipping with latest fulfillment center

Walmart offered a sneak peek of its new fulfillment center in the Atlanta area on Thursday on the heels of announcing that it would bring grocery pickup to the region this month. Walmart says the new facility is dedicated to filling online orders and is the latest addition to the next-generation fulfillment network Walmart is building to support its rapidly growing e-commerce business.
Retailer Spotlight: Q&A with Marty Hanaka, CEO, City Sports

A change at the top has given new energy to Boston-based specialty retailer City Sports. In July, the company tapped veteran retail executive Marty Hanaka as CEO. He replaced Edward Albertian, who resigned in June.
Supply Chain Challenges

Today’s consumer is driven by an “I want it now” mentality, yet retailers are still not prepared to deliver. Reducing the time it takes an order to arrive at a customer’s home is every retailer’s objective, but while quicker fulfillment makes customers happy, it comes at a cost.
Want it now? Social media can help

Social media has evolved into a powerful marketing tool for retailers. But so far, social commerce is not yet a major transactional channel.

Twitter is the latest social platform to attempt to take advantage of social media’s immediacy to offer direct purchase functionality aimed at impulse shoppers.
The Right Focus

Interior build-outs in the retail sector can be some of the most expensive construction projects, with cost per unit area far exceeding that of an exterior build. They are also often more logistically complex. For example, the coordination of all the different trades and the delivery of materials, fixtures and products can be challenging, but it is key to ensuring quality, containing costs and avoiding delays.